How Chris Klieman plans to help one K-State wide receiver turn his season around
How would you react if we told you seven Kansas State football players have caught more passes than Malik Knowles this season?
What would you say if we told you two of those players are running backs, one is a tight end and another is listed as a defensive back in the Wildcats’ media guide?
Two months ago, when Knowles was expected to replace Dalton Schoen as the team’s lead receiver, most K-State fans would have laughed at that kind of talk. Now, those same fans are more likely to shrug in ambivalence.
It has been a disappointing season for Knowles. A year after making 27 catches for 397 yards and three touchdowns as K-State’s most dangerous deep threat, he has surprisingly become an afterthought in the offense. He has two catches for 34 yards through the first four games of his redshirt sophomore year. So far, big drops have outnumbered big plays.
Changing that narrative will be a priority for the Wildcats starting this weekend against Kansas.
“We have to get him some throws, probably,” K-State coach Chris Klieman said. “Maybe get him an easy catch early in the game.”
Helping Knowles bust out his unexplained slump would be a boon for the Wildcats as they move forward with freshman quarterback Will Howard. Of course, the same could be said for K-State’s entire receiving corps.
The Wildcats are currently operating with one consistent receiving threat. Chabastin Taylor leads the unit with 10 catches for 169 yards and a touchdown. But there have been few other highlights at the position. Phillip Brooks has stepped into the No. 2 role and delivered six catches for 63 yards and a touchdown. D.J. Render, a former defensive back, has surprisingly surfaced as the position’s No. 3 target.
Some of that can be explained by roster attrition. Wykeen Gill is out for the season with an injury and Joshua Youngblood decided to transfer and left the team. Some of that can also be explained by Knowles dropping passes and battling nagging injuries, though Klieman says he should be “healthy and available” against the Jayhawks.
More than anything, though, the Wildcats are getting more production out of their running backs and tight ends. Freshman running back Deuce Vaughn leads the team with 279 receiving yards and senior tight end Briley Moore leads the team with 14 catches. Unlike most seasons, only 31% of K-State’s passing yards have gone to receivers thus far.
That hasn’t stopped the No. 20 Wildcats (3-1, 3-0 Big 12) from climbing into the national rankings, but they would prefer to have a more balanced passing attack moving forward.
“It’s something that we talk about on a daily basis with our staff,” Klieman said. “We’re trying to find more ways to get them involved, whether it’s on some jet sweeps or some reverses, whatever it may be, trying to get as many guys involved as we can. We also have really good tight ends. Nick (Lenners) hasn’t caught many balls. Sammy (Wheeler) hasn’t caught many balls. We have a bunch of those guys. Running backs, we have to find a way to get the ball to Harry (Trotter) and Tyler (Burns). So, it’s a better problem to have in that we know we’re going to continue to improve and get better.”
K-State players haven’t lost confidence in their receivers.
“I think that the receivers have done great this week in practice,” K-State running back Harry Trotter said, “and I think they are ready to step up.”
Despite Knowles’ lack of production, he has been inches away from finding the end zone in multiple games. And he delivered a highlight catch against Arkansas State on a pass that was thrown well above his head.
Maybe his next big catch will turn his season around.
“Those guys are grinding,” Moore said. “Whenever their name or their number is called, they are going to be ready. They have been ready. So, we’ll just continue to keep finding ways to get guys open. Whenever you have somebody like Deuce that can do all the things he can, you can try to get the ball in his hands as many times as possible, but we all just have to keep working. Whenever our number is called, be ready to step up.”